The Solanus Casey Novena

The Solanus Casey novena is a nine-day prayer to Blessed Solanus Casey (1870–1957), the Irish-American Capuchin friar who spent his life as a humble doorkeeper and became one of the most sought-after counsellors and healers of his age. It is prayed above all for the sick and the poor, for those the world counts as failures or forgotten, and for any grave need laid before God through his intercession — most traditionally over the nine days of 21–30 July, ending on his feast on 30 July. Below we give the full authentic novena as it comes from the Capuchins who guard his cause: the daily prayer, the distinct petition for each of the nine days, the short litany, and the prayer for his canonization.

A note on this devotion. Blessed Solanus Casey is a modern figure. He died in 1957 and was beatified on 18 November 2017 — he is a Blessed, not yet a canonized Saint, so strictly there is as yet no "St Solanus Casey." We give his novena in full because it is widely sought, entirely orthodox, and drawn from a life of striking holiness; but those attached to the 1962 books and calendar should know his feast is not on the traditional calendar, and may wish to pair this devotion with an older intercessor for the sick such as St Peregrine or, for causes given up as hopeless, St Jude. If you are new to this form of prayer, see our guide to what is a novena.

The full Solanus Casey novena

The novena carried by the Father Solanus Guild is written to be prayed aloud in a call-and-response between a leader and a group; prayed alone, simply say both parts yourself. Each of the nine days uses the same opening and closing, and changes only the daily petition given below.

Begin:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The daily prayer:

O Blessed Solanus, Patron of the sick and the poor! By your word and deed, you followed Christ, who said, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). O Blessed Porter of Divine Graces, you welcomed, consoled, listened to, and prayed for the numerous sick and the poor, and obtained the miracles of God for them. Impoverished by the ailments of my body, mind, and spirit, I come to you seeking the healing God desires for me.

Father Solanus, trusting in the power of your intercession, we pray to you for…

Then add the petition proper to the day:

The nine daily petitions

Day 1 — …those who feel lost or insignificant, that they may find their true worth in the kingdom of heaven. We humbly ask that you present our petition to God, trusting in His divine will and mercy. Amen.

Day 2 — …those who grieve. Console them and turn their sorrow into hope.

Day 3 — …ourselves. Teach us humility and gentleness, that we may treat each other with respect and kindness.

Day 4 — …ourselves. Fill us with a desire for justice and guide us to act according to Your will.

Day 5 — …ourselves. Help us to be compassionate, and to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

Day 6 — …ourselves. Purify our hearts, that we may see You in all things.

Day 7 — …ourselves. Make us instruments of Your peace, and help us to reconcile with one another.

Day 8 — …those who suffer for their faith. Give them strength and grant them the courage to stand firm in the face of adversity.

Day 9 — …those in need of healing. Strengthen their faith in God's healing power, that they may experience restoration of mind, body, and soul and give glory to God.

(Here name your own intention.)

The short litany of Blessed Solanus Casey

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

Blessed Solanus, lover of Jesus and Mary, pray for us.
Blessed Solanus, follower of Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Blessed Solanus, comfort for the sick and the poor, pray for us.
Blessed Solanus, model of meekness and humility, pray for us.
Blessed Solanus, example of trust in God's love, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

The prayer for his canonization

O God, I adore You. I give myself to You. May I be the person You want me to be, and may Your will be done in my life today. I thank You for the gifts You gave Father Solanus. If it is Your will, bless us with the canonization of Father Solanus so that others may imitate and carry on his love for all the poor and suffering of our world. As he joyfully accepted Your divine plans, I ask You, according to Your will, to hear my prayer for (mention your request here) through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessed be God in all His designs.

Conclude:

Pray for us, Blessed Solanus Casey. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, we give You thanks for all the ways Your holiness shines forth in the humble life of our Capuchin brother, Blessed Solanus Casey. Help us not simply to admire him, but to learn from him, so that we too may become like him. Open us to all the graces You are giving us on our earthly pilgrimage, as we place our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The shorter Solanus Casey novena prayer

Many older leaflets and cards carry only the prayer for his canonization — the "O God, I adore You" prayer above — and treat it alone as the novena, said once a day for nine days with the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be added at the close. This is the simplest form of the blessed Solanus Casey novena prayer, and it is a true novena. If you want more than a single petition, use the fuller nine-day form above with its distinct daily intentions; if you want one steady prayer to carry all nine days, this shorter one serves well. Either way, the words that Father Solanus lived by belong at the end of it: Blessed be God in all His designs.

How to pray the Solanus Casey novena

A novena is nine days of the same prayer, offered with one intention. To pray this one:

• When to begin. The traditional nine days run from 21 July to 30 July, closing on his feast day. But the devotion may be begun at any time you feel drawn to ask his help — before surgery, in illness, in unemployment, in a cause that seems already lost.
• How each day. Say the daily prayer, then the petition for that day (or, in the short form, the canonization prayer), then name your own intention plainly, and close with the litany and an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
• The disposition. Ask in the spirit Father Solanus himself taught — "Thank God ahead of time." He counselled the anxious to thank God in advance for the answer, whatever it should be, trusting that God's designs are always good. Pray, then, not to force God's hand, but to place your need where he placed every need: in the hands of Providence, content to receive the favour you named or the better thing God chooses to send.

For a saint who, like Father Solanus, drew everything from the poverty of St Francis, you may join this to the novena to St Francis of Assisi; and for the same charity to the poor in another humble religious, see St Martin de Porres.

Who is Blessed Solanus Casey?

Bernard Francis Casey was born on 25 November 1870 in Oak Grove, Wisconsin, the sixth of sixteen children of Irish immigrant parents. Before the priesthood he worked as a logger, a hospital orderly, a prison guard, and a streetcar conductor — it was said that seeing a drunken sailor kill a woman with a knife on the streetcar tracks turned his heart decisively toward God. He entered the Capuchin Franciscans in Detroit in 1897 and took the religious name Solanus, after the Spanish missionary St Francis Solano.

His studies were his great trial. Because the Capuchins' formation was conducted largely in German and Latin, Bernard — bright but not academic — struggled through his classes, and in 1904 he was ordained a "simplex priest": he could celebrate Mass, but was not permitted to preach doctrinal sermons or hear confessions. It was a humiliating limitation for a priest, and he bore it for the rest of his life without complaint. God turned that very limitation into his glory.

Assigned as a porter — the friar who answers the monastery door — first at friaries in Yonkers and New York City and then, for over twenty years, at St Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, Father Solanus became one of the most sought-after men in America. People came in their hundreds to the door: the sick, the desperate, the poor, the doubting. He listened for hours, enrolled the suffering in the Seraphic Mass Association, and prayed with a confidence that again and again saw the sick healed and the hopeless consoled. During the Great Depression he was instrumental in founding the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit, which feeds the hungry to this day.

He died on 31 July 1957, reportedly saying, "I give my soul to Jesus Christ." His last words and his whole life were of a piece with his constant motto: "Blessed be God in all His designs." After a healing attributed to his intercession was approved — the cure of a woman's severe genetic skin disease — he was beatified at Ford Field in Detroit on 18 November 2017, only the second American-born man to be beatified. His feast is kept on 30 July, and his cause for canonization continues; the prayer above is offered precisely so that the faithful may ask God to bring it to completion.

Blessed Solanus is honoured as a patron of the sick and the poor, and, fittingly for a man whose whole life was built on humiliations quietly accepted, as an intercessor for setbacks, disappointments, and apparent failures. His example belongs beside the great school of Christian lowliness — see the Litany of Humility, a prayer he would have recognised as his own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Blessed Solanus Casey?

He was an Irish-American Capuchin Franciscan friar (1870–1957) who served most of his life as a monastery porter, or doorkeeper, in New York and Detroit. Though ordained only as a "simplex priest" — unable to preach or hear confessions — he became famous for his spiritual counsel, his care of the sick and poor, and the many healings attributed to his prayers. He was beatified in 2017.

When is the Solanus Casey novena and his feast day?

The traditional nine days of the novena run from 21 July to 30 July, ending on his feast day, 30 July. The novena may, however, be prayed at any time of year when you wish to ask his intercession.

Is Solanus Casey a saint? Why "Blessed" and not "St"?

He is a Blessed, not yet a canonized saint, so the correct title is Blessed Solanus Casey, not "St Solanus Casey." He was beatified on 18 November 2017, which permits public veneration; canonization — the Church's solemn declaration that he is a saint — requires a further approved miracle and has not yet taken place. The novena's own canonization prayer asks God to bring that day about.

What is Blessed Solanus Casey the patron of?

He is invoked especially for the sick and the poor, and for those facing setbacks, disappointments, and what the world calls failure — because his own life was built on limitations humbly accepted and turned to good. Many bring him needs of health, of employment, and of causes that seem already lost.

What did Solanus Casey mean by "Thank God ahead of time"?

It was his most famous counsel to the anxious and the suffering: to thank God in advance for the answer to their prayer, whatever it should be, trusting that His designs are always for our good. It is the disposition in which to pray this novena — confident, grateful, and resigned to God's will rather than demanding a particular outcome.

Can I pray the Solanus Casey novena for someone who is sick?

Yes. Healing of body, mind, and spirit is the very heart of this devotion — the ninth day's petition is expressly for "those in need of healing." Name the sick person in your intention each day. Remember that a novena does not compel a cure; it commends the sick to God through the prayers of a friar who spent his life at the side of the suffering, and leaves the outcome, in his own words, blessed in all God's designs.

Is there a difference between the "Father Solanus" and "Blessed Solanus" novena?

No. Father Solanus Casey, Fr Solanus Casey, and Blessed Solanus Casey all name the same man; "Father" recalls his priesthood, "Blessed" his beatification. The novena is one and the same whichever title is used.

Pray this novena with day-by-day reminders, the daily petitions, and audio in the Iter Fidei app, so you never lose your place across the nine days. Download it here.

Sources. Holy Scripture (Matthew 25:40); the Novena and Litany to Blessed Solanus Casey and the Prayer for his Canonization, as issued by the Capuchin friars who guard his cause; the beatification of Solanus Casey (18 November 2017) and his feast (30 July); his own counsel and motto, "Blessed be God in all His designs" and "Thank God ahead of time."